Category: Featured OHS Articles
According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 39% of Ontario employees wouldn’t tell their manager if they had a mental health issue – which probably goes some way in explaining why mental illness costs the Canadian economy $51 billion every year in lost productivity. As with any risk to your organization, the best defense is a good offense. Never has this been truer than in the case of workplace mental health.
In their second article of the series, the Workplace Safety & Prevention Services’ (WSPS) Organizational Health Team talked to HRD Canada about the 13 psychological factors for workplace mental health – where they came from and how you can implement them into your organizational strategy.
The 13 factors are defined as elements that can impact employees’ psychological responses to work and workplace conditions. The factors are based on how we organize our work and manage our people with mindfulness and carefulness. When these factors are addressed, they can positively influence employee and organizational health, resilience and sustainability. Consistent with research into fundamental psychosocial risk, the 13 Factors have been validated as part of the development of the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
It’s important to note that each one of these factors is tied to the next. That’s to say, they flux and influence one another creating positive or negative changes in the mindset of your workforce. They are:
1. Organizational culture
2. Psychological support
3. Clear leadership and expectations
4. Civility and respect
5. Psychological demands
6. Growth and development
7. Recognition and reward
8. Involvement and influence
9. Workload management
10. Engagement
11. Balance
12. Psychological protection
13. Protection of physical safety
The first step in implementing these factors is understanding them. Thinkmentalhealth.ca, a website created by Ontario Health and Safety System Partners boasts an impressive video series – ‘have That talk’ – which details the intricacies of each factor individually. It’s a great tool you can use to further educate yourself on how to initiate discussions with your team, build awareness and prompt open communication.
“These videos can be used to initiate discussion in meetings or safety talks to build staff awareness of the 13 factors,” says Workplace Mental Health Consultant, Danielle Stewart. “Organizations should also conduct a needs Assessment, to see how the 13 Workplace Factors impact their organization.” Perception surveys, such as the Guarding Minds@ Work survey is a great needs assessment tool that can be used.
Once you’re fully versed in the factors’ nuances, it’s time to talk about implementation. A good place to start is Thinkmentalhealth.ca readiness survey tool. Here, employers answer a range of questions using a scale of one to five – the website then calculates how ready the business is to adopt and implement a workplace mental health program.
Measuring the ROI on investing in mental wellbeing is something of a hot topic right now. But can you really put a price on the mental health of your workforce? Implementation is dependent on existing policies and programs already in place within your organization, as well how you scored in the readiness assessment. Ensure you give yourself enough time to do some thorough research into the best tools and programming for your organization. There’s a plethora of free resources, categorized by readiness state, that are readily available on Thinkmentalhealth.ca to help you during implementation.
In order for any workplace mental health program to be successful, it’s essential that your senior leadership team is visible and active throughout the development stage. Psychologically Healthy and Safety programming takes effort and patience. Remember –, creating a mentally healthy workplace requires continual improvement over time, there is no quick fix.
“A common mistake organizations make after conducting a needs assessment is not reporting back to staff in a timely and honest manner,” added Stewart.
One way of ensuring your program flourishes is by understanding the diversity of your workforce and encouraging worker participation at all level, – to offer their input and suggestions. Research from Cloverpop, a decision making and collaboration software company, found that inclusive teams make better business decisions 87% of the time, with those decisions yielding 60% better results.
Essentially, do not treat mental health initiatives as some kind of ‘flavour of the month’ trend. It’s not something to be violently forced upon your staff. These programs need to be implemented for the right reasons, with the mindset of transforming your workplace rather than ticking a box on a health and safety report.
It’s a journey – but it’s one worthwhile.
Article source: https://www.hrmonline.ca/hr-news/health-and-safety-strategy/revealed-13-psychological-factors-for-workplace-mental-health-249930.aspx
Bulletin:
Improving Workplace Safety in Nova Scotia’s Community Emergency Departments – NSHA Progress Report
In October 2016, Premier Stephen McNeil announced the creation of a working group on safety protocols as a result of an incident at Soldiers Memorial Hospital, Middleton. The working group was tasked with making recommendations to Nova Scotia’s Minister of Health and Wellness to improve workplace safety for employees, patients and visitors, with a focus on violence reduction in the community emergency departments across the province. The working group authored a report titled Improving Workplace Safety in Nova Scotia’s Community Emergency Departments, which highlighted 12 recommendations.
In consultation with our union partners, we have made significant progress on the recommendations identified in the report. We have developed policies, conducted various assessments and moved forward with staff education and training – all designed to improve safety for those working in community emergency departments and across other areas of our organization. One of the recommendations was an annual progress report from our organization to share advances in building a safer work environment and care settings for all. On Thursday, January 25, we will release our progress report publicly.
Question and Answer:
- What is the status of our work to meet the report’s 12 recommendations?
NSHA is pleased to report that of the 12 recommendations, 11 have been met or have significant progress underway. One recommendation related to establishing a provincial business solution for reporting and tracking is still in the planning stages. NSHA remains focused on building a safe, high-quality health system. Our work is not only about the health and safety of our patients and their families but also the safety and well-being of those who work in our organization.
Workplace-Safety-Report-NSHA-Final
A hospital admissions clerk who is stabbed with a pair of scissors.
A nurse whose head and neck are punctured with a pen.
A young father who comes home day after day from his health-care job with a black eye.
According to a new survey of Ontario health-care workers, incidents like these aren’t isolated tragedies. In fact, 68 per cent of nurses and personal support workers across the province have experienced physical violence at least once on the job over the past year, a poll conducted for the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions shows. Some 42 per cent experienced at least one incident of sexual harassment or assault.
To read the rest of this article, click here.
More health workers in Saskatchewan are being compensated for violent on-the-job injuries than police or corrections officers, according to newly released statistics from the province’s Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB).
According to the board’s statistics on accepted claims, the top three groups of occupations that were prone to violent injuries between 2012 and 2016 were:
- Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates.
- Community and social service workers.
- Registered nurses.
In April 2016, government introduced and passed Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act to help keep Nova Scotians safe at work. Most employers in Nova Scotia operate safe workplaces. However, there are some who repeatedly break serious health and safety rules, putting Nova Scotians at risk of serious injury or death. The amendments hold those employers more accountable, and were passed by the legislature with a commitment by the Department to work with stakeholders on next steps. That work is complete, and we’re ready to put the changes into place. We are writing today to inform you that the amendments will come into force on June 12, 2017.
As you will remember, the changes better define when, how, and what injuries and incidents must be reported, and give government additional tools and authority to enforce safety requirements for those who repeatedly disregard safety regulations, putting people at risk of serious injury or death. The Occupational Health and Safety Director now has the authority to deal with repeat offenders by:
- issuing stop-work orders at all their sites where these is potential for serious injury or death;
- applying to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia for an injunction to prohibit them from working in an industry where they have a repeated history of causing serious injuries or deaths;
- requiring them to advise the department of future work locations and activities so that an inspection can be conducted as needed.
The Department will continue to work with all of you between now and June to encourage further awareness and understanding of the changes. Over the next couple of weeks, we will post further information on our website, and an Occupational Health and Safety Officer may also go over this information with you during an upcoming workplace visit.
We ask that you please share this information with your workplace networks. We must continue to work together to keep Nova Scotians safe.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 1-800-952-2687 or 902-424-5400, or via email at [email protected].
In recent Canadian OH&S News legal precedent has been set in relation to WCB insurance and bullying in the workplace. Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island (WCB) recently awarded benefits to a Hazelbrook, P.E.I. woman, after ruling that her husband’s death by cardiac arrest had been linked to workplace bullying. The reward to the widow was “based on a finding of fact that there was bullying, that there was resultant stress, that that stress was of a degree in severity that induced a heart attack, and that heart attack was fatal,” said her lawyer. The widow’s lawyer in this case James W. Macnutt explained that he and his colleagues, in preparation for this case, attempted to find legal precedent involving a link between workplace bullying and a fatality.
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A new study by a Toronto-based human-resources consulting firm, Morneau Shepell, looks at the question of whether or not significant changes in the workplace have an effect on the mental and physical health of employees. They conducted a nationwide survey of employers and workers, asking them about their reactions to major organizational changes like job redesign, downsizing, restructuring and mergers. Only slightly more than one-quarter of employees said that organizational change had improved their health, performance and perceptions of their companies. About 40 percent of employees said the changes had affected their health and well-being in a negative way. Thirty per cent of workers claimed that change had negatively affected their job performance, while 43 per cent said that it had affected their perceptions of their employers in a negative way. These numbers were low enough to…Read More
The province has accepted 12 recommendations to improve safety and security in community emergency departments.
A working group tasked with finding ways to improve safety at community emergency departments presented its recommendations on, Jan. 20.
“The safety of nurses, physicians, staff, patients and families at emergency departments across the province is very important to all of us,” said Premier Stephen McNeil. “I thank this group for its time and expertise. We accept these recommendations. We want to work with our partners in health care. Helping to improve workplace safety is good for all of us.”
Recommendations include:
— have the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) and unions work together on ways to reduce workplace violence
— perform risk assessments for each community emergency department to determine their safety and security needs
— offer education such as non-violent crisis intervention training to staff
— set up an NSHA-wide system to track incident and injury reports, training records and compliance reports, and provide data for future safety planning
— ensure staff can report workplace violence in multiple ways such as on paper or with a smartphone or tablet
— update emergency planning policies and ensure that staff know how to respond to incidents if and when they occur
The complete report is available here.
“Our committee of employers, unions, government and other key stakeholders is proud to present a positive strategy resulting from a very serious workplace incident,” said Janet Hazelton, president, Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union. “Violence is not part of any nurse’s or health-care worker’s job. Regardless of the situation no one should feel threatened or unsafe in their workplace. Much remains to be done, but this is an important step in the right direction.”
The NSHA will put the recommendations into place over the coming months and will report back to the province in a year’s time.
“The report builds on many of NSHA’s efforts since its creation to develop a provincial approach to workplace safety with consistent training, programs and policies,” said Carmelle d’Entremont, vice-president, people and organizational development, Nova Scotia Health Authority. “The working group is a wonderful example of collaboration to achieve a common goal. The partnerships with unions and other stakeholders will help us better address workplace violence.”
The working group consisted of:
— Nova Scotia Health Authority (co-chair)
— Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union (co-chair)
— Department of Health and Wellness
— Department of Labour and Advanced Education
— Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union
— Canadian Union of Public Employees
— Unifor
— Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
— AWARE-NS
— RCMP
— Paladin Security
— Cape Breton Regional Police Service.
